


Everybody Talks

by Notleviosah



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Harry Potter Has a Twin, Hogwarts, Magic, Original Character(s), Seer, Seer Original Character, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29366961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notleviosah/pseuds/Notleviosah
Summary: Have you ever wanted to be something bigger than you are?Have you ever wanted to make your dreams come true?Hailey Potter seemingly did just that as she went through her years at Hogwarts.  They weren't perfect, filled with moments that she hopes will one day fade into a distant memory.  However, she wouldn't change her experiences for the world.ｄｒａｃｏ ｍａｌｆｏｙ ｘ ｏｃρꪮttꫀr T᭙ⅈꪀડ ꪊꪀⅈꪜꫀrડꫀ© notleviosah, plot/story© j.k. rowling, Harry Potter
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	1. The Beginning

Halloween is a day of happiness for many families. Children run around in costumes, begging for candy as the streets are lit up with decorations adorning the houses. While the day is from an old Celtic festival, it has developed into a holiday that gives candy companies a large amount of their income for the year.

However, it makes children happy, which is what matters to most in the world.

It even makes child-like people happy, like a man named James Potter.

The messy dark-haired male is sitting on the slightly run-down couch with his two children, a girl, and a boy, both being a measly one years old. The girl’s hair is slightly curled stubs of red-brown, while the boy has long locks of black. The girl, Hailey, is tugging on her father’s hair, causing him to smile at his little spitfire that resembles the woman he loves.

Lily Potter smiles as she sits on the couch with her husband and children, cradling her son and giving him some attention. Her son, Harry, is not as rambunctious as his sister, being much quieter while sitting in her lap, holding onto her finger with his small chubby hand. “Love,” her voice comes out in a whisper, not wanting to be too loud since both children are finally starting to settle, “we need to get them in bed.”

James dramatically gasps, causing his daughter to laugh, clapping her hands at his silliness. “Five more minutes! Please?” He says with a pout, sticking out his bottom lip, actually causing his wife to laugh.

“Oh..fine,” she readjusts Harry in her lap, her son still refusing to let go of her finger. The female sometimes feels like she is not only dealing with two children but three. But, she’s happy with all of it. It’s her small little family, hidden away for just the mere moment.

“Yay!” The child-like male cheers, which his daughter attempts to copy, although it sounds more like baby rambles. However, it causes the two adults to burst out laughing, amused that she is attempting to copy them at such a young age. Harry lets go of Lily’s finger, instead deciding to try to crawl over to his father. “Aww, coming to see your sister?” James jokes as Hailey tries to crawl off of him as well.

Hailey tightly holds a small doll with red hair, a small gift from her godmother due to her birthday being a few months prior. So, even as she attempts to crawl toward her brother, her grasp on the small toy is as tight as ever, as if she subconsciously does not want to lose the doll.

A quiet creak of the gate causes both adults to jump, looking at each other apprehensively. Lily turns pale as the worst possible outcome rears its ugly head in her thoughts and refuses to leave her mind.

She is scared.

James notices her state almost immediately, causing a pit to grow in his stomach as he eyes the door warily. He is unsure if it is an old friend deciding to pop in, or if it is someone much more sinister. Deciding to put those thoughts in the back of his mind, he forces a smile and stares back at the woman he loves. “It must be Sirius! He said that he might stop by.”

The effect on Lily is evident. With the new possibility in her mind, the darker one vanishes. She trusts in her friends, knowing that they wouldn’t sell them out. She trusted James when he suggested switching the secret keeper at the last moment, appointing Peter Pettigrew as the person in question.

In truth, she would have rather had Sirius, Remus, or Jean as the secret keeper, but she does think that James was right. Nobody would think that they would appoint Peter as the one protecting them. Even then, James had known Peter since their first year in Hogwarts, so why wouldn’t she trust him?

James, still unsure that it is indeed his best friend, moves Hailey off of him and walks toward the door, leaving his wand on the table. He grabs onto the doorknob and opens the door after a few moments.

But what he saw caused his breath to stay in his throat.

Creeping up to the house is a male with red eyes, eye bags circling them. His skin is a pasty-white that would cause anyone to shiver almost immediately. It was Voldemort, a man that anyone in their right mind would have an inkling of fear for.

“Lily!” James yells out almost immediately, causing the woman to jump at his panicked tone. “Take the twins upstairs, now.”

Immediately catching onto the situation, she stares at her husband in a mix of worry, fear, and anxiety. “What about you? I can’t just leave you down here.”

James keeps his eyes on the figure still coming toward the house before breaking his gaze, staring back at the love of his life. “Just go - please - I’ll be up there in a minute.”

Lily looks like she contemplates it for a split second before nodding, grabbing both children and starting up the stairs, unknowingly leaving her wand on the table as well.

Both children do not understand what is going on, of course, so when Hailey accidentally drops her doll, a shriek erupts from her throat as her mother doesn’t stop to pick it up. Lily continues to mutter small phrases, successfully getting the child to become quiet once more.

James takes a breath, fear settling into him as he stares down the dark wizard before him. He’s absolutely terrified, but he can’t just sit back and watch his family be murdered. He has to do something.

And as he stares at the menace threatening his children, his eyes catching the red eyes of his foe, a sarcastic thought of Voldemort seeing red floods his mind before he can stop it.

But before he can even think to do something, a green light floods his sight, the hiss of a man he despises with his soul being the last thing he hears before he is greeted by nothingness. 

One moment, James Potter was alive and happy, the next, he was on the floor of his home, forever staring at the white ceiling.

Lily barricaded her and her two children in the nursery, crying as she clutches a small golden locket, the moving pictures of her children, her husband, and herself smiling back at her. The woman places the jewelry in a drawer, wanting to keep the gift safe. 

When she heard the loud noise in the living room, the hiss of the man she fears due to his bloodlust for her children, she can’t help but let out a quiet sob, covering her mouth in an attempt to compose herself.

Hailey Potter is an intelligent baby, well that’s what the people around her mother say. While the slightly chubby girl is unaware of what exactly the adults say, she is attuned to their reactions, their happiness. So when her mother covers her mouth, tears escaping her eyes, Hailey cannot help but start crying, knowing her mother is sad.

This causes her brother to start crying as well, latching onto his sister.

Lilly jumps at the sound of her children crying, deciding to crawl over to them in an attempt to get them to quiet down. “Shh,” she coos, not helping their cries in the slightest. “Mommy loves you, she always loves you.”

Hailey stops crying, staring at her mother who adorns glossy eyes at this moment. While she does not know what is going on, nor will find out until many years later, she can’t help but feel scared. She grips onto the bars of her crib, staring at her mother with her big hazel eyes, causing Lily’s sobs to catch in her throat as she stares at her daughter.

Harry is still crying, causing the mother to continue to coo at him in an attempt to get him to quiet down, but to no avail. She tries everything within her power to make him stay silent, but he doesn’t stop crying.

“Step aside.”

Lily freezes in that moment, not having realized that the barricade of furniture was moved since she was focused on her children. She stands, her red hair falling in her face as she stands in front of her two children. “No!” She yells out, fresh tears escaping from her eyes. “Take me instead.”

Voldemort isn’t the most patient person, as he grows agitated at the fact that the woman he promised he would not kill stands in his way of controlling the wizarding world. The boy is destined to defeat him, while the girl is destined to foil his plans. He cannot let either live, due to both being his possible downfall.

“Step aside, you foolish girl,” he hisses out, trying to fulfill his promise to his trusted servant. 

Lily shakes her head, standing strong as she stares down the dark wizard. “Kill me instead, just please spare my children!” She doesn’t even attempt to stop her tears as she begs the wizard to not kill them. 

Voldemort decides on his future actions immediately, finished with the meaningless conversation he is currently sharing with the woman who is the only barrier between him and his destiny. So, with a raise of his wand, Lily Potter falls in a flash of light, only a scream erupting from her throat before eternal silence falls upon her form.

Hailey Potter is an intelligent baby, well that’s what people around her mother say. While she can’t understand the words adults speak yet, she understands the emotions, and she copies them. But she can’t copy her mother’s emotions anymore.

The baby stares at what used to be Tom Riddle, unsure of what he is feeling. She mostly feels fear, but that could be attributed to his dark attire and snake-like appearance.

Voldemort stares at the girl for a moment before glancing at the boy that is destined to slay him. The pale man raises his wand once more, directly at the boy’s head before uttering the killing curse.

The green light erupts, but it does something the dark lord had never seen before. In mere moments, the light reflects back at him with a large explosion, causing magical energy to go in different directions, causing a cut to appear on the female child’s hand as a burst of energy flies past her. This is different from her brother, who now adorns a cut on his forehead, exactly where the dark wizard cursed him.

Voldemort curses at himself for falling for old magic from a muggle-born. As the small bit of his soul leaves, retreating to find a new host, he can vaguely hear the cries of the two children he failed to kill.

But this was only the beginning.


	2. Glass Doesn’t Just Disappear

Ten-year-old Hailey Potter sits on the floor of her shared cupboard, reading a storybook she stole from her cousin’s second bedroom, her scarred left hand turning each page as she readily absorbs the information that is available to her. Her favorite stories are ones that have ambitious main characters, one that wants to do something to get out of their horrible situations. Perhaps it is due to her own circumstances that are not ideal, she has no idea. 

The girl glances at her brother who occupies the only bed in the small cupboard, which she gladly gave them once they started primary school. She had stolen a sleeping bag from her cousin around the same time, deciding that it was her responsibility to make sure her brother is as comfortable as possible.

Hailey grabs her notebook, awarding another tick onto the notebook received on the first day of school, which she has owned since. In primary school, she lied, saying she lost the first notebook they gave her. In truth, she decided to keep the book strictly for herself, adorning the pages with ticks. It started with counting down the amount of days she and her brother could leave, which was around five thousand when she started counting. Now, it is just a sign of hope she can’t help but continue to write in.

Perhaps she had her own dreams of leaving the place she has unfortunately called home for almost nine years. Her brother dreamed of leaving too, which gave her even more hope for the future. Yes, Harry Potter gave her hope for the future.

The red-headed girl stares at her brother’s sleeping form, smiling at his calmness. It has always been just him and her, for multiple reasons, which their cousin did not help with. See, Harry and Hailey look normal, and act normal, but they aren’t normal.

One time, Dudley and his band of goons chased Harry, and the boy ended up on the top of a roof. Another time, their Aunt Petunia got so fed up with Harry’s hair, that she cut it all off, leaving only some fringe to hide his scar. Harry vented to Hailey for an hour that night, but when the twins woke up in the morning, Harry’s hair had grown back to its messy glory.

That’s not to say Hailey hasn’t had odd experiences herself, she has. However, she attempts to keep to herself in a failed attempt at protecting herself. So, most of the odd occurrences become obsolete when they are not even noticed. If that is a good thing or a bad thing, Hailey does not know. But the less attention there is, the more comfortable she is, so she doesn’t complain very much.

Hailey fidgets with the string of her second-hand hoodie, nervously watching light erupt from the crack of the door. The girl clicks the button on her small, handheld personal flashlight, hiding it in her pile of belongings, along with the stolen storybook. Quiet promises emerge from her lips as she promises that she’ll be back for the book, successfully hiding the item in her sleeping bag.

She then proceeds to sit on the floor, awaiting for her aunt to come wake her and Harry to make breakfast, as that is what to be expected. The redhead sighs, standing up and stretching, touching the top of the ceiling with her hand, causing some dust to fall on her unkempt locks and face.

She sneezes, trying to muffle the sound as much as possible as the girl nervously glances at her brother. In her mind, he deserves to get as much sleep as possible, and she would hate to wake him earlier than he needs to be.

Not with it being Dudley’s birthday today.

The familiar sound of the door being unlocked causes the girl to jump as she looks expectantly towards the door, not ready for the day. “Up,” her Aunt Petunia’s voice hisses out, effectively waking her brother finally. “Get up.” The woman hits the door multiple times as an extra precaution to make sure both twins are up and ready for the day's contents.

Hailey sighs, resting her head on the wall behind her and allowing her eyes to close, encasing her in complete darkness. “Dudley’s twelve now,” she says to her brother, not even paying attention if he’s truly listening, “do you think he will stop his goons from chasing us?”

“Not likely,” Harry says, grabbing his glasses that are taped together due to their cousin using him as his own person punching bag. Harry pauses, noticing his sister frown slightly at his response. In an attempt to get her to smile, albeit a small one, he gives her some hope. “But who knows? Maybe being older does make you wiser.”

“Unfortunately pigs mature by the time they’re one, so I don’t think he can get much smarter than he already is,” Hailey retorts before glancing at her brother with a small smile. She knew what he was doing, and she appreciated it, even if he was rather predictable at times. A frown finds itself on her features, however, when she sees his scar showing.

She stands for the second time that morning, walking over to the boy and brushing some of his fringe in his face to cover up his scar. According to the Dursleys, whom Hailey trusts as far as she can throw them, both of their parents died in a car crash.

Of course, Hailey had questions, which prompted her seven-year-old self to walk three miles to the nearest library to do some research. She looked through thousands of newspapers, with the help of the librarian who had taken a liking to her, but she found zero information on a car crash that orphaned the pair of twins.

That information wasn’t given to Harry, she didn’t find the need to. Unless the problem is important, she doesn’t wish to bother him with her theories, no matter how probable they are.

But after that six month adventure of her going to the library every time the Dursleys left, she refused to believe a single word any of the three would utter. They lied, she knows they did, and Hailey doesn’t like that at all. However, she does want to know exactly what happened to her parents, and no matter how much she broadened her search, she couldn’t find any information on an accidental death under the names James and Lily Potter.

There were strange occurrences the day after her parents died, which she finds fascinating, but didn’t find the need to research much into it. The behavior of owls just doesn’t interest her very much.

The familiar sound of running on the stairs above their heads snap Hailey out of whatever thought she was currently dwelling on. Once again, the girl sneezes as dust that once settled on the ceiling of the cupboard falls as their cousin laughs when he cups on a single step. “Get up cousins!” Dudley’s muffled voice says from above their heads. “We’re going to the zoo!”

Hailey sighs, deciding to slip out of the cupboard before her cousin even can contemplate doing anything. As she stands next to the wall, her eyes follow Dudley as he stalks the door to the cupboard, not paying attention to her. Once Harry attempts to leave, trying to follow his sister, the pudgy twelve-year-old pushes him back into the cupboard before kicking the door shut with his food.

Hailey can’t help but think how rude that is, her ever so familiar frown coming back that is immediately erased when her brother emerges from the cupboard to her delight.

Hailey guides her brother to the kitchen, her hand grasped tightly on his arm as she tugs him along, as if afraid that he would disappear in an instant. Her nose turns up as she sees the multiple presents for her cousin in slight jealousy. Within those boxes are possibly new clothes, or toys, or even a new television. But, they would always be for her spoiled cousin. Any sane person would be jealous of that.

“Oh, here he comes, the birthday boy!”

Now there is something Hailey Potter feels zero jealousy over. Aunt Petunia, a tall lanky woman with curly blond hair and a neck long enough that she could easily spy on others over the fence, babies her son until it looks absolutely mundane. Talking down to others in an attempt to flatter them isn’t in Hailey’s taste, so she is very happy that she doesn’t have to deal with that.

“Happy birthday, son.”

Vernon Dursley, a man that vaguely resembles his son by size alone, reads a newspaper, barely even giving a glare at the two twins who just walked in. Hailey isn’t exactly upset about that either, rather preferring that attention more than any other.

As the two twins attempt to enter the kitchen, their lanky aunt sneers at them as if they are worth less than the bacteria on the bottom of her brand-new shoes. “Why don’t you cook breakfast,” Petunia says before starting to walk out, only to pause and glare at Harry. “And try not to burn anything.”

“Yes, Aunt Petunia,” Harry and Hailey say at once, the girl in the pair bowing her head ever so slightly, filling the aunt with pride as she believes she trained the girl correctly.

Hailey rushes to gather the necessary items to make her uncle a pot of coffee, hoping that he would be a tad bit kinder if he didn’t need to ask for the liquid. She obviously knows that is only wishful thinking, but everyone can hope.

“I want everything to be perfect, for my Dudley’s special day!”

Hailey can’t help but cringe at her aunt’s sing-song voice, the inflection cutting away at the girl’s composure ever so slightly that only a few would actually truly notice, the Dursleys not being in that small group of individuals.

As if expecting it, the young girl pours a cup of coffee style moment the pot is ready, only to hesitate as she waits for further instruction from the man in question.

“Hurry up!” And there it was, Hailey rushes over, keeping a hand over the cup so she doesn’t spill a drop onto her aunt’s pristine carpet. “Bring my coffee, girl! Oh…” he trails off, eyeing the girl in hesitation. It is no secret that Vernon Dursley thoroughly dislikes both twins, everyone who has known them for less than twenty-four hours could  
He doesn’t thank her, not that she expected it. She was more than content due to the fact that he didn’t throw her in the cupboard, saying it was punishment. While that cupboard is the only place she has called home, it’s not as if she enjoys being in a small room with barely any light.

Not to mention that it’s filled with spiders, and one thing that’s well known to her brother is that she despises the arachnids. Their small, round bodies and multiple eyes just scare the life out of her. 

“How many are there?” 

Hailey jumps at the yell of her cousin, glancing at him and his pile of presents. She could almost feel the temper tantrum radiating off his pudgy body, and she couldn’t help but brace for it.

Vernon Dursley smiles proudly at the presents, clearly thinking he has done his son justice for his twelfth birthday. “Thirty-six, counted them myself.”

Hailey determines that her previous inclination was indeed correct, internally wondering why her cousin is the one in the best school courses while Harry and her have to be in the worst. “Thirty-six?!” Dudley screeches, stomping his excessively large foot as his tantrum begins. “But last year, last year I got thirty-seven!”

Sometimes, Hailey has to wonder how spoiled her cousin actually is, but then she gets her answer. Considering that for her tenth birthday, she expressed her desire for a book, and the Dursleys gave the storybook to Dudley instead, she wouldn’t consider herself spoiled.

Vernon looks absolutely befuddled with his son’s tantrum, not understanding that he and his wife completely ruined any chances of his son being a normal human. “Yes, well, some of them are quite a bit bigger than last year!” He can’t help but chuckle, hoping to calm down his son.

“I don’t care how big they are!” 

Hailey and Harry stare at each other, shrugging as they get back to cooking breakfast. Harry isn’t particularly fond of the entire situation, while Hailey is absolutely amused. She forces her smile to stay off of her features, always wanting to laugh at the strange conversations they have.

“Oh, now, now, now,” Petunia says, making Dudley get out of his fake temper tantrum immediately, his red face going back to its ghastly pink. “This is what we’re going to do. When we go out, we’re going to buy you two more presents! How’s that, Popkin?”

Dudley grins, nodding happily as he gets what he wants, to his female cousin’s dismay. She looks away from the entire situation, deciding to put the food on the plates, wanting to go back to the cupboard.

She knew this day would be awful.

“Where’s our breakfast? Hurry up!”

“Yes, Uncle Vernon, ” the two twins say through their teeth, hating every moment of this dreadful day already.

••••

Hailey picks at her nails, glancing nervously at the snake in front her. She’s not exactly a fan of the scaly creatures, even if they are one of the most interesting species she has had the pleasure of researching in her free time.

The big creature is just sitting there, staring at all of them with its great big eyes, but refusing to move. Honestly, Hailey Potter is quite annoyed with it, mostly because her cousin is whining loudly about the snake refusing to move, which tends to get on people's nerves relatively easily.

“Make it move!”

And there it is, the yelling that Hailey has absolutely learned to hate, due to the fact that she has heard it practically every day since she was one. Her brother has as well, but she has no idea what his perspective on the kid is. Really, she doesn’t know what her own perspective is on the subject matter.

Vernon strikes the glass repeatedly, his face turning red in annoyance, angered that the boa constrictor dares ruin his son’s birthday. “Move!” He yells once again, hitting the glass once more.

“He’s asleep!” Harry screams out, surprising his sister to the point where she visibly jumps in shock. Her brother has raised his voice before, sure, but she isn’t fond of loud noises in the first place, from her brother or otherwise.

Their guardians stare at Harry for a moment, Vernon Dursley’s face growing redder by the moment as his anger surges to greater heights than Hailey had personally seen for at least a month.

However, the anger is yet to be unleashed as their favorite and only son starts to whine in an annoying tone, causing the girl beside the boy to almost visibly becoming annoyed at her cousin. “He’s boring!” the boy whines before walking to another exhibit.

Hailey places a hand on the glass, feeling the coolness of it on her palm, creating a calm sensation to spread across her. Sure, she dislikes snakes, but she would much rather spend time with a scaly reptile than with her cousin and his parents.

Well, she would much rather spend time with her brother, but he's canceled out of the equation once he's actually in the room in the room with the redheaded girl. 

And for once, she is calm during the day, that is until an odd noise is produced beside her. Hesitantly, she glances beside herself to see her brother talking in a language she had never heard. No, it didn't even sound like a language to the poor stunned girl.

Harry was releasing a low hiss, changing his inflection at points, imitating an actual language, but it sounds like something the girl had never heard before. It sends chills down her spine as she watches the snake nod at her brother. The language her brother is speaking sounds dark, and she thoroughly dislikes the thought of an unknown fact.

She doesn't like it, not one bit.

The girl doesn't even want to call her brother out on it, only observing the odd phenomenon and studying every single detail she possibly can. Whatever this is, she wants to know exactly what it is as soon as possible. Who knows? Maybe she and her brother could make a living off his strange new talent.

But what that talent is, Hailey has no clue. She would never admit it, but she didn't particularly consider her brother as the learning type, especially in language. He's more the type to not think things through and learn hands-on. At least, that's what she internally believes. Of course, she refuses to say that to her brother's face, sometimes even valuing his recklessness. But she sometimes despises his personality as well.

Her train of thought is broken as she is pushed to the floor by her cousin, hissing as her shoulder smacks on the floor with a painful smack. Hailey grips onto her shoulder, looking up at her cousin in annoyance as he croons about how the snake was moving. 

To say that she was annoyed would be an understatement. Annoyed is far too nice of a word for the cousin that bullies her and her brother tirelessly. 

However, as she glares at her cousin from the floor, her shoulder throbbing in pain from the rough impact with the floor, the glass her cousin leans on disappears before her very eyes. The boy falls, yelling as the entirety of his brother falls in the artificial river that was at the bottom of the snake enclosure.

Looking straight at her brother, she cannot help but grin. Internally, somewhere deep in her subconscious, she feels amused. And she knows that things are just starting to get interesting.


	3. Letters Everywhere

There are multiple reasons why a girl would dislike her hair being pulled. One reason could be because they were taunted in primary school, only to be told the boys have a crush on her when she complains about her treatment. Another, which is the most likely in Hailey Potter’s case, is due to her uncle pulling her into the house by it.

She somewhat resents her brother at this moment, as he is being dragged by his ear instead of hair. While it obviously hurts, the red-haired girl is envious of the fact that he doesn't feel hair separating from his scalp, one strand at a time.

“What happened?” Vernon yells in their faces, his face during a deep shade of purple as he rises to absolute rage.

“I swear I don't know!” Harry yells out, causing his sister to forget the pain in her scalp for a second. “One minute the glass was there and then it was gone! It was like magic!”

“Shut up!” the girl yells, panic laced in her voice as she tries to tug her hair out of her Uncle’s tight grip. “They hate that word, you know that!”

Vernon seemingly ignores the girl, be it either out of spite or he didn't hear her is beyond the young girl’s thought process. The large man pulls them into their cupboard, locking the door once both children stumble in. “There’s no such thing as magic, ” he hisses out, shitting the small opening inside the door and locking it immediately, causing the girl to sink to her knees.

“You're an idiot, you know that?” she hisses out, gently rubbing her scalp, successfully nullifying some of the pain she unfortunately felt.

Harry rolls his eyes at his sister, collapsing onto his bed with a huff. “I didn't do anything.”

“I know that.”

He continues to stare at the ceiling, eyes trailing every crack and crevice on it. “And you didn't do anything.”

“If I did, we would have never been around that area, ” Hailey says as if it were obvious, picking at her nails in annoyance. “We wouldn't have even been thought to have done something like that. Though, ” her grin widens, staring straight at her brother, “it was the most hilarious thing I've seen in a while.”

“Hails, let me finish.”

“Oh, right, please continue.”

“So, ” Harry mutters, adjusting his broken glasses so they rest a bit more comfortably on the top of his nose. “If you didn't do anything, and I didn't do anything, what happened? How did the glass disappear?”

“I don't know, ” the girl says while hugging her knees, her head resting lightly on her knees as her red locks fall in her face. “But whatever happened was wicked.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Well I would, ” she says, her grin still prevalent as she messes with a strand of her hair, a nervous tick she developed years ago. “That pig deserved it. A little bit of embarrassment pays very little back, but it's a damn good start.” The girl may have read the book, Matilda, a bit too much for her own good.

“You’re scary sometimes, you know that?”

“Oh, dear brother, whatever do you mean?” the girl asks sarcastically, looking up from her gaze that was previously on the floor. “How can I be scary?”

“Shut up…” the boy mutters before rolling over so his back faces his sister, causing the girl to huff since he ruined her fun, which she did not enjoy whatsoever. 

Her head continues to throb, making the young girl a tad bit worried. Hailey’s hair was tugged harshly, but it surprises her that a headache seems to form.

Hailey falls onto her rolled-up sleeping bag, looking up at the ceiling. Her hazel-brown eyes trace over the cobwebs in the corners, glancing around just in case a spider decided to make this place its home as well. Luckily, for the girl at least, she does not seem to spot a single arachnid, which brings a small gentle smile on her face.

Deciding against bringing out her book in an attempt to sooth her headache, she just decides to stay quiet, not even attempting to discuss meaningless topics, assuming that he would not wish to. That assumption would be correct, as the boy has already dozed off in an attempt to live through the new punishment they both have to endure due to a freak accident.

Hailey, however, was questioning the reasoning behind the so-called accident. She had seen it too, the glass before it disappeared and reappeared. The girl knows that what she saw is the truth. So what happened? She can not possibly realize what happened, especially when she is going locked in a room for days, and she knows that.

So as she begins to doze off, her breathing starting to even out, she can not help but continue to wonder what happened. She doesn't like it when information isn't easily attainable, and this situation surely elevates that hatred to new heights.

••••

Hailey Potter blinks slowly as she finds herself unable to move. Her eyes look around, glancing at an odd situation. Three figures are in her line of sight, two on the floor, and one on the couch, snoring annoyingly.

But the strangest thing about the situation in her opinion is the fact that all three people have blurred features, making it impossible for her to figure out who each person is supposed to be. A storm cracks, as if taunting her. It is allowed to move, and be free, while she must stand while watching two figures draw with the dirt on the ground.

The situation is odd, to say the least.

A beep echoes around the room, continuing to increase in volume, causing the girl to want to cover her ears. As the beep echoes, pounding into her head as if a large gorilla made her a punching bag. In an attempt to stop it, she opens her mouth, but only silence is heard as she closes her eyes tightly.

Her dream slowly fades as she sees the female figure on the floor inch closer to the other figure.

“Happy birthday.”

“Yeah, you too.”

And like that, the girl could only see darkness, only being able to listen to the ever so deafening silence.

••••

Hailey groans as she hugs herself, her stomach rumbling for the twentieth time that day. The lack of food surely not helping her mood, even if the week-long punishment was long over.

Harry stares at his sister in concern, glaring at his uncle when the bulky man is not paying attention. The boy is very well aware of the fact that the girl is struggling due to the lack of food, and being forced to do even more chores than usual does not help her situation.

The two twins halt, gathering the mail that was placed through the mail slot not a few minutes earlier.

Hailey is the first person to notice, immediately gathering the letters in a rush as she waves the letter in front of her brother. “Look at this!”

“What is it?”

“I don't know!” she says in excitement as she stares at the envelope addressed to her. Her name, her address, even her bedroom are listed on the small piece of paper. After sifting through the small stack, she softly laughs in amazement, “look! You have one too!”

Harry takes the envelope out of his sister’s hands, running a hand over the wax symbol that keeps the envelope shut. “But who would write to us?”

“Who knows, ” the girl says, shrugging as she hides the letter in her hoodie pocket, not about to show it off to the Dursleys. 

Harry, on the other hand, does not, but as both twins hand the mail to their Aunt Petunia, Hailey doesn't wish to risk telling him to hide the letter. 

So, the girl does what she thinks is the best option, she slowly walks toward the cupboard, determined to read the letter in the privacy of her shared room. She is well aware of her brother opening the letter in the middle of the kitchen but decides that it would bring too much attention to him. Well, more than he already has.

“Dad look, Harry’s got a letter!”

That sparks a panic deep within the girl’s stomach. She doesn't run, no, but stays frozen as she stares in horror as her pudgy cousin brings the letter over to his father, who looks thoroughly amused. “Who’d be writing to you?” Vernon chuckles before looking at the seal, a flash of panic overcoming his features as he glances toward his wife, who looks equally scared.

Hailey decides that this moment is the best time to sneak into the cupboard, with all three opposing figures focusing on her brother. The girl hates using her brother as an escape tool, but it's not like she would be able to hide without him distracting them.

As she opens the door, however, a low creak comes from the old door, causing the girl to curse as four pairs of eyes rest solely upon her.

“What, ” Vernon’s face goes red as he glares at the girl, “are you doing?”

Weighing her options, the girl decides to attempt to dart into the cupboard, only to be stopped as her cousin grabs onto her hoodie, forcing the poor girl to stay in the hall as the letter falls out of her hoodie pocket.

Vernon’s face turns into a darker shade of red than the girl had ever seen, and it scared it. She was afraid that her newly acquired freedom, if you could even call it that, was going to be taken away due to a letter.

And she was right.

••••

The week after was the strangest experience of Hailey’s life so far. Letters came in by the hundreds, even annoying the postman who put in a formal complaint about the large workload. Only after a day of the letters coming, did Vernon Dursley close the letterbox stating that there would be, ‘no more mail through this letterbox.’

To say the young Potter girl was amused would be the understatement of the century. The letters were annoying her, and the constant glares she got from the Dursleys only added to the fire of hatred she had for all three of them, it was hilarious to her when they got overwhelmed.

So if a few strange letters caused it, she was happy to have the situation continue.

Sure, waking up to her uncle yelling at a flock of owls at five in the morning was not ideal, especially as the girl already struggles with sleeping for more than a few hours at a time, but it was funny when she found out he was scared of birds. When she found out he was yelling at birds, she found it hysterical, laughing about it with her brother for days afterward.

Only a day ago, Petunia Dursley had her own issue to deal with regarding the unwanted letters. While putting together the wet ingredients for a cake, every time she would crack an egg, a letter would magically be inside of it, folded to be impossibly small.

That night, Vernon took a large stack of letters, making sure to burn them in front of the twins, taking joy as any happiness that may have been caused by the letters vanished from their eyes, as if there was nothing there at all.

So, by the end of the week, any hope Hailey had for the letters diminished with the ashes of the dozens sent to her. She is still rather curious about the entire situation but decided much earlier that the situation wasn't something she wanted to fight for, that it is just too risky.

Hissing slightly, the girl grasps onto her hand as the hot cookie sheet burns her hand through the thin pot holder, causing her brother to help her secretly get a wet rag to put over the injury before their guardians see.

“Fine day, Sunday, in my opinion, it's the best day of the week!” Vernon says while grinning. The two twins plate the cookie, Hailey keeping the rag on her dominant hand. “And why’s that, Dudley?” 

The chubby boy shrugs stupidly, staring at the television screen like he needs it to survive.

Harry walks forward, deciding to try to keep attention on him so that the Dursleys do not notice she's injured, not knowing how they would react. “Because there's no post on Sundays?” the boy Potter says, giving his uncle a freshly baked cookie.

“Right you are Harry!” Vernon gives a deep, throaty laugh making the young girl cringe. She does not like his laugh, no, she does not like a single thing about anyone in that family. “No blasted letters today, no sir! Not one blasted, miserable-”

The man is interrupted by a letter hitting his face.

The sound of rumbling comes from the fireplace, causing Hailey to duck, not wanting to be hit with anything. First, one letter shoots out of the fireplace, then two, which is greeted by hundreds of letters shooting out of the fireplace.

Glancing around and assessing the situation, Hailey inches toward the living room before snatching a letter addressed to her. Deciding her best option was to hide, she huddles in a corner, holding her head in an attempt to act like she was frightened, while in reality, she was far from scared.

Unknown to her, her brother had the same thought process, albeit being much less stealthy about the situation. The dark-haired boy jumps onto the coffee table and grabs a letter still in the air, darting toward the cupboard.

Once the scuffle happens, Hailey does notice, analyzing what is happening in front of her. Her hazel eyes stare at her brother being captured, the letter ripped from his grasp, which does cause the boy to yell out. 

As she continues to study the situation, she cowers, even more, when Vernon bounds toward her, feet stomping as he glares at her with a rather angry expression prevalent on his features. “Turn out your pockets!”

Hailey just stares up at him, slowly blinking as she pretends to not understand what he's asking. While she does know that approach is risky, especially due to the increase of his annoyance, she still attempts to keep up the act, even when he drags her by the arm to the living room.

“Turn out your pockets!” he repeats, causing the girl to flinch uncontrollably. Begrudgingly, she takes out her letter and hands it to her guardian, eyes staring at the carpet with a glare. She does not dare fight for the letter, but it does not mean she is happy about the situation. “That’s it!” Vernon yells out pushing the girl aside. “We’re going away! Far away! Where they can't find us!”

And then, he stomps up the stairs, seemingly getting his things. Petunia glances at the two twins before running after her husband, Dudley following soon after.

“Was that really worth it?” Hailey mutters to her brother kicking his arm as he reaches for another letter. “Just give it up...they bring nothing but trouble.” She leans down, helping her brother off the ground. “Let’s get packed, looks like we're going somewhere.”


	4. A Strange Man With A Jacket

Hailey dislikes sleeping on the floor. Even if she has done it for years, her heavy dislike is, and always will be, prevalent in her mind. Her hatred for her legal guardians grows every moment they punish her for things she didn’t do.

Moments such as when she broke her aunt’s favorite punch bowl deserved some sort of punishment, Hailey will admit that much. However, moments such as what happened only a few days ago fuel her hatred so it continues to fester inside her, like a fire that never dwindles due to having enough fuel to last a century or more.

So, as she sits on the cold cement that covers the ground of a small hut that Vernon Dursley somehow managed to rent. Waves lap at the shore, every once in a while hitting the rock the hut dwells on so loud that the Potter girl jumps in surprise. All the girl knew as the seconds tick by before her and her brother are a year older is that she was disappointed that they were spending their eleventh birthday on a rock.

“You alright, Hailey?” Her brother asks, snapping the poor girl out of her previous thoughts. Harry was observing her mannerisms, noting that his sister was rather tense. 

Hailey shakes her head, as if attempting to shake away her thoughts at the same time. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Harry goes to open his mouth, to retort that he knows that she is in fact not fine, but is interrupted by the annoying beepings of his cousin’s wristwatch. Glancing down at his horribly drawn picture of a birthday cake, he smiles. “Happy birthday.”

Hailey’s eyes snap to Harry’s for a moment, a look of panic crossing her features before she becomes neutral once more. Her eyes slightly narrow at the situation, an odd sense of déjà vu taking over her thoughts for a split second. Once again, she shakes her head, successfully ridding herself from her troublesome thoughts before smiling. “Yeah, you too.” Her eyes flick to the watch of her cousin, still trying to comprehend why she feels like she has lived this moment before, only stopping in her tracks when her brother looks confused toward her actions. With a sigh, Hailey smiles, “well, what are you waiting for? Make a wish Harry.”

He nods, blowing on the drawing until the dust is spread apart, making anyone unable to realize that there was a cake right there.

Hailey doesn't say anything, instead laying down on the ground in an attempt to ground herself into reality. The odd situation that just happened doesn't help her confusion, only making it worse than it should be. In truth, she wanted to blow away the birthday cake herself, but Hailey wasn't about to deprive her brother of that. 

Harry is a weakness of Hailey’s, which she is well aware of. Perhaps it's due to him being the only one who supports her through the tough times that are governed by the Dursleys, she has no idea. For all she knows, it could just be because he is the only one who survived with her after the car crash.

She doesn't remember it, even with an eidetic memory. However, according to her aunt and uncle, her parents died in a car crash. Her adventures make the girl doubt that, but for her peace of mind, she does attempt to believe that lie. Even if doubt swirls in her stomach every time Harry mentions remembering something about the crash.

Loud, thundering, knocks come from the door, breaking the girl from her thoughts as she stares directly at the piece of wood. Fear finds itself a home in her heart as she stands apprehensively. 

“Hailey!” Harry hisses out, grabbing onto her wrist in an attempt to stop his sister in her tracks. She merely stares at her brother for a moment before jerking her hand away from him, intrigued with the thundering knocks.

Before the girl can determine her next move, the door falls with a loud slam, showing the silhouette of a large man. Large would perhaps be the wrong word for the person standing in the doorway. Standing at roughly six and a half feet tall, the figure just stands there, causing the girl to back away in panic. 

Vernon Dursley, who was standing at the doorway to the only bedroom in the but with his wife, holds a gun, pointing it directly at the strange man who ruined their beauty sleep.

Hailey narrows her eyes, attempting to take a glimpse at the man who is merely a shadow due to the lighting in the room. She does not dare to speak, rather watching to access the situation before interacting with the new person.

“Who’s there?” Vernon Dursley stutters out, his hands shaking as he continues to point the shotgun at the strange man who just appeared out of nowhere, unnerving the man to no end. He prides himself on having a fairly normal life after all.

The unknown man looks down in shock, as if just realizing that he just causes the door to detach from its hinges. “Sorry ‘bout that, ” he mumbles as he steps forward, picking up the door and attempting to put it back into place.

Hailey tilts her head at the strange man. He has bushy brown hair that is tangled and matted, as if he hasn't used a brush or comb in decades. He also has a beard that matches his hair in equal untidiness. The man utterly confuses the newly-turned eleven-year-old.

“I demand that you leave at once, Sir!” Vernon Dursley days, unknowingly stopping the girl from accessing the incredibly confusing event happening before her eyes. That of course annoys her, but she's not about to admit that, not when there is a very large intruder standing a mere ten feet from her.

The strange man walks by Hailey, causing her to be even more confused as her eyes follow him until he stands directly in front of her uncle, confusing the girl. She does not doubt that her uncle wouldn't pull the trigger, he is a tad bit too cowardly for that. However, with the intruder looking down at her uncle as if he is a bug on a windshield, she can not help but feel rather amused. “Dry up Dursley, you great prune.”

With one great tug, the shotgun Vernon was holding previously is folded upwards, the muzzle now pointing toward the ceiling. The gun fires due to the rest trauma, shooting a hole into the ceiling of the but to Hailey’s utter dismay as she thinks of how cold the ground will be with the new ventilation.

The strange man walks toward Dudley, grinning happily at him, causing the boy to retreat. Hailey takes that moment to realize that her brother hid in the shadows, causing her to narrow her eyes at the situation before her. If Harry is scared, she definitely should be more scared than she is.

“Mind, I haven't seen you since you was a baby Harry, but you're a bit more along than I would have expected. Particularly ‘round the middle!” He chuckles as if he said the funniest joke known to man. After a few moments, the man states before glancing at the frozen girl, taken aback at how calm she seems in contrast to the others in the room. “And Hailey, you look just like your mother.”

Hailey narrows her eyes at the reveal of the new information, mulling through the fact that this man knew her parents. An interesting fact that she quietly puts in the puzzle that is the first year of her life.

“I - I - I'm not Harry.”

Hailey's eyes follow her brother as he emerges from the shadows that didn't exactly hide him in the first place. He swallows as he looks up to the man, looking visibly nervous. “I am.”

The young girl, while keeping her gaze and focus on the new man in front of her, shuffles toward her brother in an attempt to show a semblance of worry, knowing how odd it is that she is the only individual not looking frightened. She knows she should be, but something about the man reminds her of a great big fluffy puppy, almost as he is the physical embodiment of a mix between a puli and golden retriever. To her, he's about as threatening as the stories in her book.

Of course, that would be diminished if she would follow anything other than her gut, but she is far too stubborn for that.

“Well of course yeh are!” the man says almost comically as if he knew who Harry was the entire time, obviously being the opposite. “Got somethin’ for yeh both. ‘fraid I might’ve sat on it at some point, I imagine that it'll taste fine just the same.” He starts rummaging through his coat, looking for something. Finally, he lets out a small noise of accomplishment as he pulls out a pink box, dropping it in my arms. “Baked it myself, words and all.”

Hailey impatiently opens the box to reveal a slightly squashed birthday cake. ‘Happe birdae Hailey and Harry,’ it reads, causing the young girl to grin excitedly at the fact that this is the first birthday present she has received.

“Thank you, ” she mutters, to which the strange man grins happily at her, happy that he made both children smile on their birthday. 

He chuckles, resembling a scraggly-looking knockoff Santa Claus. “It’s not every day that yer twins turn eleven, now is it?” Hailey’s eyes follow him as he walks toward the fireplace, raising an umbrella toward it.

She watches, rather confused over what he even hopes to accomplish. And then, even more, questions arise as the fireplace sparks to life, fire crackling as if it had been burning all evening. Harry and Hailey glance at each other, Harry looking more visibly confused than his counterpart.

Realizing how strange the situation continues to be, Hailey places down the cake onto a counter, facing the man once more. “I’m sorry, but who are you exactly?” Normally, she wouldn't particularly care, but the more the man talks, the more answers she gets to her questions. So, a win-win scenario in her mind.

The man just beams even more as if proud of previous accomplishments. “Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Course, yeh’ll know all about Hogwarts…” Both twins look confused at his insinuation, making Hagrid look confused. “No? Blimey, didn't you ever wonder where your mum and dad learned it all?”

This causes the girl to pause, racking her brain for an answer the man would like to listen to, unknowingly visibly showing her current state. 

“Learnt what?”

Hailey glances at her brother, almost wanting to mutter something, but decides against it as Hagrid looks like he wants to reveal a bombshell worth of information, intriguing the young girl.

Hagrid grins, before saying, “Yer a wizard, Harry.”

Anything the young girl was preparing herself for can’t compare to the simply unbelievable answer that was just presented to her on a silver platter. Although, she does but together that it is a possibility that this man is telling the truth, or even what he thinks is the truth.

“I’m a what?”

Hagrid then grins at Hailey, making her think even more as he utters, “and yer a witch, Hailey.”

Hailey internally gets offended for a split second, not understanding that he meant an actual magical being, instead of thinking that he insulted her. That passes quicker than it arrived in her brain as she tilts her head at his statement. “Like in magic? Those are in fiction.”

Hagrid shakes his head, looking even more confused than usual, trying to put together his thoughts before stringing them together in a way that they can understand. “Well, did yeh ever make anythin’ happen? Anythin’ yeh couldn't explain?”

Hailey’s gaze drops to the floor as she tries to put together her jumbled thoughts. Her brother had more notable instances, even locking their cousin in a snake enclosure and talking to a snake in some strange language. However, it also causes her to realize the weird instances surrounding herself as well, such as chasing off her Aunt Marge’s dog after he was attacking her brother. It doesn't sound like much, but it was confusing as she didn't lay a hand on the mongrel, yet it was yelping and running toward its master with his tail between his legs.

She shakes her head, pushing away the strange notion. “No, it's still not possible. Anything that has happened has a perfectly good reason for it happening, ” she says curtly, glancing at her aunt and uncle. They're both rigid in posture, causing her to narrow her eyes as she attempts to analyze why they look so uncomfortable.

Her eyes when as her uncle and aunt practically gives her an answer if what Hagrid had said was true. So far, based on her observations, there is a large possibility that she isn't particularly normal.

Hagrid doesn't answer her previous statement, instead handing the girl an envelope that she recognizes all too well. Taking less than a moment to weigh her options, she removes the seal, two pieces of parchment revealing themselves.

She stares at the pieces of folded parchment, not knowing if it would be a very good idea to read it. However, if her brother can openly, she isn't going to lose her nerve. 

Her hand runs over the black lettering in gorgeous penmanship, glancing at the words in front of her. 

‘Dear Ms. Potter,   
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on the first of September. We await your owl by no later than the thirty-first of July.  
Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress.’

“They’ll not be going!”

This causes the girl to look away from her letter, the amazement diminishing off her face quicker than the look of disgust when her cousin stuffs his face full of junk food.

“You knew?” Harry yells out, ignoring that his sister grabs his arm in warning. “You knew and you never told us?”

Petunia scoffs, flicking some of her blonde hair out of her face. “Of course we knew. How could we not? My perfect sister, being who she was.” Hailey quickly concludes in the middle of the woman's rant, her aunt was jealous. “Oh, my mother and father were so proud the day she got her letter. We have a witch in the family, isn't it wonderful. I was the only one to see her for what she was. A freak! And then she met that Potter, and she had both of you, and I knew you'd be the same...strange, even looking similar to them! And then, she went and got herself blown up! And we got landed with you.”

It's no surprise that Petunia Dursley was speaking as if both children were mere specks of dirt on her fake designer shoes. However, Hailey does not dwell on that, as she already knew of her aunt’s disdain for both her and her twin. No, she's focusing on the fact that the mystery of her parent’s death may have been answered.

“Blown up?” Harry yells out again, earning an annoyed glance from his sister in the process. “You told us our parents died in a car crash!” In truth, she was outraged as well, merely suppressing it to not cause even more of a scene, already disliking the volume that her brother was speaking at.

“A car crash?” Hagrid booms, causing the girl nearby to flinch at the noise. “A car crash kill James an’ Lily Potter?”

Petunia seems to also be scared of the noise as she flinched as well, getting panicked at the increase of volume from the man’s voice. “We had to tell them something!”

“It’s an outrage! It’s a scandal!”

Hailey stares at the strange man as he yells, trying to comprehend every odd encounter she has had in the last twenty minutes. While she is rather confused, it does amuse her when her aunt and uncle cower in fear due to the giant man.

Her humor, as described by her brother, isn’t particularly the kindest, which boggles the girl’s mind. She only assumed that everyone found certain experiences hilarious and only learned that she was indeed wrong about that assumption a few years ago when she was nine.

“They’ll not be going!” Vernon Dursley yells out, his face turning a dreadful shade of purple.

Hagrid seems amused with the shorter man, seemingly not being afraid of him at all. “Oh, and I suppose a great Muggle like yerself’s going ter stop them, are you?”

The girl tilts her head at the word she has never heard before, trying to comprehend it by using context clues as to not wanting to ask. In her mind, it is much easier to figure it out herself instead of dealing with her family berating her for not knowing.

Hagrid seems to take note of the two children’s confusion, quickly saying, “non-magic folk,” before focusing back onto the two adults. “This boy and girl have had their names down since the day they were born! They’re goin’ ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world, and be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen: Albus Dumbledore.”

Hailey picks up on the admiration the man must have for the Headmaster, which brings a small smile on the girl’s face, only to drop as her uncle gets even angrier. “I will not pay for some crackpot old fool to teach them magic tricks!”

The statement seems to anger the giant man as he shakes his umbrella at Vernon Dursley with a look that could kill. “Never insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me.” His gaze goes toward Dudley, who is currently stuffing his face full of the cake that was meant as a birthday gift.

In one swift movement, Hagrid raises his umbrella, pointing it toward the boy. And, with a flash of violet light, a pink curly pig tail appears on the boy’s bottom, causing his female cousin to stifle a laugh at the irony of him semi-transforming into his true form.

She always knew his spirit animal was a pig, this just proves it.

Petunia ushers her son away, yelling hysterically, her husband following close behind.

Hagrid looks down at his umbrella, stroking his beard as he seems to think of something. “Shouldn’ta lost my temper,” he says ruefully, “but it didn’t work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn’t much left to do.”

Hailey grins in response, knowing full well that she’s going to enjoy this man’s company quite a bit if he compares her cousin to a pig as well.

Great minds think alike, and she believes that wholeheartedly.

Hagrid glances at both twins sheepishly. “Be grateful if yeh didn’t mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts,” he says quickly. “I’m - er - not supposed ter to do magic, strictly speaking’. I was allowed to do a bit ter follow yeh an’ get yer letters to yeh an’ stuff - one o’ the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job-“

“May I ask why you can’t do magic?” Hailey asks suddenly, her head tilted to the side a bit as she continues to observe every move the man makes. Not in fear, but merely in intrigue. “If you don’t want to say, that’s completely alright!” She adds hastily, noticing how uncomfortable Hagrid is.

“Oh, well-“ he starts, looking uncomfortable, but seemingly wanting to answer. “I was at Hogwarts myself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an’ everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore.”

“Why were you expelled?”

Hailey doesn’t hesitate to smack her brother on the back of the head, completely surprised that he would be that blunt with the man and ask such personal questions.

She’s a hypocrite, of course, but at least she has the decency not to pry that much...sometimes.

“It’s gettin’ late and we’ve got lots ter do tomorrow,” Hagrid says suddenly, obviously wishing to change the subject. While his reaction does intrigue Hailey, she decides against calling him out on his change of attitude. “Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an’ that.”

Hagrid then proceeds to take off his black coat, draping it on the two children. “You both can kip under that,” he says. “Don’ mind if it wiggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o’ dormice in one of’ the pockets.”

Deciding to not protest against it, as she is rather tired, Hailey sighs as she gets comfortable on the ground, the warm coat keeping her safe from the cold around the room.

And mere moments later, due to exhaustion from the days events, Hailey Potter falls asleep next to her brother.


	5. Subways, Goblins, and Motion Sickness Oh My!

Waking up, Hailey can’t help but smile as she glances at the large man who is currently snoring on a sofa, confirming that the night prior was indeed real.

It wasn’t a fantasy she made up to temporarily mentally escape from the Dursleys.

She sits up, moving the coat so that she can stand, stretching her limbs as they pop. As she walks around, Hailey can’t help but practically hop in excitement,

Due to her celebration, she ends up jumping in shock when an owl taps at the window of the hut. Hailey tilts her head at the sight of a brown owl holding a large newspaper in its beak. As it continues to claw at the window, looking irritated at the staring girl, she finally takes the hint and lets it inside.

When the window opens, the bird immediately swoops in, dropping the paper on Hagrid before attacking his jacket, poking and prodding the many pockets that adorn the large piece of fabric.

“Don’t do that.”

Hailey smiles as she realizes that her brother is awake as well, further confirming that this entire situation wasn’t a dream she made up in an attempt to stay sane.

Harry panics at the owl messing with the coat, trying to wave off the avian only to have the owl snap its beak at him before continuing on its quest to find an item unknown to the two children.

Hailey sits down, digging through the pockets of the large coat until her hand wraps around a few coins. Her eyes narrow at the coins, as they look nothing of what she is used to. Looking back to the owl, she smiles softly, “do you need to be paid?”

The owl stares at her before extending its leg out, wanting her to put money in the small pouch tied onto its leg. Hailey bites her lip before turning toward Hagrid. “Hagrid, how much do I pay him?”

“Give him five Knuts.”

This does not answer the girl’s question very well, causing her to furrow her brows as she looks over the coins. Running her fingers over the coins, she makes out the writing in the coins, realizing that a small bronze coin had the word ‘Knut’ written in it.

Counting five coins, she slips the coins into the owl’s pouch, petting the creature’s head before he flies out of the open window, leaving her sight in a few moments.

Harry huffs at the scene in front of him. “Why were you allowed to pet it and I wasn’t?”

“Well for one,” Hailey replies calmly, returning the coins to the correct pocket, “I wouldn’t call an owl an it. Second, perhaps it was due to me finding what he wanted instead of trying to chase him off for doing his job.”

Harry doesn’t respond, silently telling his sister that she is once again right. His gaze turns to the giant man waking up, the yaw of said man causing the walls around the two children to seemingly shake for a few moments until he ceases the action.

“Best be off, yeh ter, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an’ buy all yer stuff for school.”

Harry’s expression downcasts as he seems to think of the coins his sister just put away. “Um - Hagrid?”

Hailey’s attention turns to her brother for a moment, not understanding why he even became awkward. In her mind, the morning was going perfectly normal for what they just found out exists.

Hagrid, who was putting on his large boots, grunts in response, not seeming too awake just yet, but confused at the boy’s awkwardness as well.

“We haven’t got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night...he won’t pay for us to go and learn magic.”

This realization causes the girl’s grasp on her hoodie string to tighten as a feeling of unease threatens to overtake her. Hailey had not thought about the cost of things, and even with having some Muggle money saved up due to stealing it from her guardians, it definitely wouldn’t be enough for the two to get supplies for their new lives.

“Don’t worry about that,” Hagrid says suddenly, unknowingly breaking the girl out of her thoughts before she could start obsessively thinking about it. “D’yeh think yer parents didn’t leave yeh anything?”

Harry looks perplexed at the notion of possibly having some money. “But if their house was destroyed-“

Hailey would have corrected him, saying it was their house too, but it didn’t seem appropriate. They both had barely any recollection of the first year of their lives, so claiming that the house they spent that period in was their home would be a bit of a stretch, even for the young girl.

“They didn’ keep their gold in the house, boy!” Hagrid booms, seemingly amused at even the notion of that. “Nah, first stop for us is Gringotts. Wizards’ bank. Have a sausage, they’re not bad cold-“ he glances at us worryingly, making us take some food he cooked up last night, “-an’ I wouldn’ say no teh a bit o’ yer birthday cake, neither.”

“Wizards have banks?”

Hagrid, who is now eating, shrugs in response. “Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins.”

The reveal of the thought to be mythical creature peaks the girl’s interest as she stares intently at the man. She had given her brother a book about mythical creatures a few years prior for her brother, she had forgotten to bring it back to the library, so actually being able to be in contact with the creatures boggle her young mind.

“Goblins?” Harry and Hailey ask in unison, both amazed with the newly found discovery of the creatures, Harry more visibly so as he dropped a bit of his food in the process.

“Yeah - so yeh’d be mad ter try an’ rob it, I’ll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, yeh ter. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - ‘cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o’ fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business.” Hailey’s brow raises at the man’s words, but she continues to listen anyways. “He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin’ you ter - gettin’ things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see?”

“Is Dumbledore really that great?” Hailey inquires, her head tilted to the side as she stares at him intently. “You praise him and all, but is he that good of a wizard?”

“Dumbledore’s one of teh best wizards of this time!” Hagrid praises, his eyes twinkling as he seems to be speaking of an idol. “Dumbledore’ one o’ nicest wizards you can ever meet!”

Hailey seems doubtful of the words being objectively true, as the man seems to have an adoration for the Headmaster. So, she’s willing to give the unknown headmaster the benefit of the doubt. 

“Got everythin’?” Hagrid asks with a final yawn. “Come on, then.”

As both young children follow the large man, they can’t help but wonder the same thing.

Exactly how did Rubeus Hagrid get to the rock?

The sky, clear of clouds unlike the night prior, causes the sea to glimmer. The boat that Vernon Dursley rented previously is now full of seawater, a gift from the storm.

“How did you get here?” Harry asks as his gaze focuses toward the shore, glancing around for a boat, only finding the water-filled one.

“Flew.”

Hailey’s gaze snaps to the adult for a moment in shock. While she did accept that she wasn’t normal, the discussion of flying still comes as a rather big shock to her.

Her brother seems even more shocked, his face scrunching up as he takes in the information. “Flew?”

Hagrid seems to be aware that both children are confused, but doesn’t particularly wish to answer every question the two brought to the table. “Yeah - but we’ll go back in this. Not s’pposed ter use magic now I’ve got yeh.”

Hailey looks at the boat for a moment before stepping in and sitting, disliking the fact that it is not completely dry. In an attempt to not think about Hagrid flying, she focuses on the flocks of birds flying around, small squawks coming from them every once in a while, causing the young girl to smile in content.

Even when the girl ultimately has to sit in the boat with the two other human beings, any nerves are gone as she stares at the blue sky, white mixing in it as if it was marble. And when the boat lurches forward, as Hagrid used a spell to speed up the boat, Hailey’s feeling of content quickly leaves her as she sighs in annoyance.

“-Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh’d die of hunger tryin’ ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get your hands on summat.”

Hailey’s interest peaks at the mention of the impossible task, as if internally wanting to accept the challenge. However, she is not stupid, and knows full well that without magical knowledge, she would die before getting to the lowest level.

So, she mentally jots it down for a future event on her bucket list.

“Can I read that?” Hailey asks suddenly, causing Hagrid to jump at the sound of her voice before looking at her in confusion. “The paper, could I read it?”

Hagrid immediately nods, handing the paper to her. “O’ course! Want to learn more about the Wizarding World, do yeh?”

Hailey doesn’t answer, instead getting lost in the small letters printed on the paper and the moving pictures showing her glimpses of places she never would have dreamed up. The mere prospect of traveling enraptured the young girl, and getting a small glimpse of it caused a genuine smile to spread across her lips as she read about the newest gossip.

The boat bumps the shore roughly, causing the two males in the boat to lurch forward in shock. The girl, however miraculously, is unbothered, continuing to read the Daily Prophet in mere interest, learning more of this world by the second.

“Hailey.”

Not listening, Hailey turns the page, reading a small column about a wizard named Gilderoy Lockhart, who, in her mind, looked like one of those muggle writers who would take writings from people and play it off as their own. Not really finding interest in how he ‘rid the town of an infestation of zombies’, she continues to the next page.

Harry notices his sister hyperfixating on the bundle of paper, pictures, and letters, causing him to gently take the paper out of her hands. She immediately snaps out of her state, blinking slowly at her brother before stepping out of the boat in embarrassment.

Walking around the city caused the girl to want to sink into the sidewalk she walks on, turning into jello on the floor instead of dealing with the weird looks from people walking by due to the man showing them around. Hagrid, who has seemingly never seen a parking meter in person, gushes over how strange Muggles are, earning well earned stares.

It did not help that the man is well over six-and-a-half feet, towering over everyone he walks by.

“Hagrid,” Harry says suddenly, breaking the girl out of her anxious thoughts so she can listen to him, “did you say there are dragons in Gringotts?”

“Well, so they say,” Hagrid replies before accidentally running into someone, apologizing gruffly before walking on. “Crikey, I’d like a dragon.”

“Same.”

“You’d like one?” 

Both twins spoke at the same time, however Harry was a tad bit more confused when he realized his sister agreed on wanting a dragon. He thought it was interesting, yes, but he would never want to own a dragon. However, the small voice in the back of his mind was telling him how much fun it would be to own a dragon, and to that, he would have to admit that, yes, it would be fun if he owned a dragon.

Hailey shrugs as she continues on with the walk, her hands sitting in her pockets as she softly hums. She knew that dragons were dangerous, however, if the fantasy novels she read were any indication, there had to be a way to train one not to kill her. 

“Wanted over ever since I was a kid,” Hagrid merely says, not helping the boy’s confusion whatsoever. He had an inkling of an idea why his sister likes the idea of owning a dragon, but he couldn’t think of anyone else actually wanting to own a dragon. “Here we go!”

When the three individuals entered the station, Hailey once again felt self-conscious due to the amount of stares as Hagrid became confused with the muggle money. Quickly shuffling toward him, she lightly tugs the money out of Hagrid’s hands before giving the money to the man before getting the three tickets.

She mutters an apology at Hagrid for being abrasive before silently walking back to her brother, hiding behind him a bit as they board the train where people were jam packed full like a can of sardines. 

Hagrid once again embarrasses her as he pulls out what looks like a tent that is a bright canary yellow, knitting it with a content smile. Deciding she wants to disappear into a world of writing once more, she pulls out the letter she was finally able to open the night prior, her hand running over the wax seal for a moment as she immediately becomes lost in thought.

Her interest peaks as the list of supplies continues. Transfiguration? Potions? Charms? Defense Against the Dark Arts? They sound like fairy tales as she excitedly reads on, until she reads a single line that makes her smile widen.

“I get to have a cat?”

Hagrid is once again surprised at the girl speaking,already getting used to her quiet demeanor and finding it almost unsettling how excited she is. “Yeh, I suppose, I like owls though. I’m allergic teh cats.”

She nods before practically bouncing in her seat, not caring if people stare at her in this moment as she just is excited at the prospect of owning a cat. “Well cats are great! Harry and I sometimes are taken care of our neighbor, Mrs. Figg, and she has some amazing cats. They’re so smart and cute.” Her short legs kick lightly under her as she sits, due to her legs not being long enough for her to touch the floor.

Hagrid chuckles at her excited demeanor, finding it amusing that the girl got so excited over the idea of owning a cat, even if he was allergic to the creatures.

••••

A tiny, grubby looking pub greets Hailey when she gets out of her cat loving mind space, any excitement dissapaiting as she stares curiously at the place. And what’s even stranger is the fact that the people around didn’t even glance at the pub, walking by and instead looking at the many bookshops adorning the streets.

“Why can’t they see it?” Hailey mutters curiously as people continue to bustle by without noticing the pub.

Hagrid seems to hear her however, and while opening the door, whispers, “Muggles only see what they want to see sometimes.”

Hailey nods, not really understanding the sentiment as she walks into the pub, immediately reaching out for her brother’s hand as the dark pub starts to come into her sight as her eyes adjust. Old women are drinking sherry in the corner, one of them smoking from a long pipe where green smoke escapes from it. The chatter that was filling the pub moments prior became non-existent as they stare at the three new individuals.

And then, everyone waves, seemingly knowing Hagrid. The bartender grins, reaching for a glass immediately. “The usual, Hagrid?”

“Can’t, Tom, I’m on Hogwarts business.”

Hagrid claps his hands on both twins’ backs, almost causing the two to tumble to the ground. 

Tom, the bartender, is quite bald, and now looking quite shocked. “Good lord,” he says as he peers at the two children, “is this - can this be?” The entire bar becomes silent and still, as if a pin could drop and it would be rather audible. “Bless my soul...the Potter twins…what an honor.”

Hailey’s face immediately scrunches up, not liking the sound of his tone. She had heard Hagrid when he said they were famous, but she didn’t like the idea of being recognized so easily.

Tom rushes toward the two, seizing Harry’s hand before going to shake the girl’s hand, only to be greeted by her peeking her head out from behind her brother. He brushes off the encounter swiftly, shaking the boy’s hand even more to compensate. “Welcome back, Mr. and Ms. Potter, welcome back.”

Hailey glances around at everyone, taking note of the woman who was smoking and is currently puffing on a pipe that had already gone out. And the, a loud noise of collective chairs being pulled out are heard until everyone wants to shake hands with the two, forcing the girl to as well.

Names are thrown around so many times that Hailey can’t keep them straight as random people shake her hand in an enthusiastic way. Of course, she does not like much physical contact except if she trusts the person, so by the time Hagrid points out a specific person, her mind was practically trying to weigh her down with negative thoughts.

“Professor Quirrell!” Hagrid booms, ushering the two children toward him. “Harry, Hailey, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts.”

“P-P-Potters,” Quirrell stammers as he grasps Harry’s hand tightly, “c-can’t t-tell you p-pleased I am to meet you both.”

He goes to grasp the girl’s hand, but she tilts her head at the strange man. “Why are you faking a stutter?”

Quirrell immediately drops his hands, deciding not to shake her hand, “W-Whatever d-d-do you mean?”

“Well, it’s fairly simple to discover if someone is fak-“

Harry covers his sister’s mouth immediately, apologizing for her actions in embarrassment.

Hagrid seems to want to change the subject as well, clearing his throat loudly. “Professor Quirrell here is goin’ to be teachin’ yeh both Defense Against the Dark Arts, aren’t you Professor?”

“N-not that you’d n-need it, eh, P-P-Potters?” He laughs at his attempt at a joke before shifting uncomfortably at the girl’s gaze that seems to be digging into his very soul as she analyzes every moment he makes. “You’ll both be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I’ve g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself.”

Luckily for Quirrell, the others wouldn’t let him have too much private time with the two children, leaving the two to spend ten more minutes shaking hands and learning names of people they won’t remember, nor see, ever again.

“Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, yeh ter.”

Hailey immediately pushes through the small crowd, not caring much for social etiquette, instead wanting to get out of the overcrowded area, not wanting to be in the center of attention. She’d much rather walk around a crowded street and not be noticed instead of being noticed by everyone in a room.

Hagrid is grinning at the two as they come across a walled courtyard, where it was empty except for a trash can and a few weeds. “Told yeh, didn’t I? Told yeh ter was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin’ ter meet yeh - mind yeh, he’s usually tremblin’.”

Hailey almost says that she doesn’t think the Professor is very truthful, but stops herself in fear of angering her new friend, not wanting to burn the newly formed bridge. 

Harry stares at his sister for a moment, not understanding why she was so blunt toward the person who clearly had a rather bad stutter, well he at least thought it was fake. “Is he always that nervous?”

“Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin’ outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience…They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and had a nasty bit o’ trouble with a hag - never been the same since. Scared o’ the students, scared o’ his own subject - now where’s me umbrella?”

Hailey takes notice of her brother’s confusion and clears her throat before talking. “Vampires are creatures that have a pale complexion, according to legend cannot be in direct sunlight, and their diet consists of blood. Hags in stories were interchangeable as witches in literature, so I’m assuming they are different, and are the reason why witches in pop culture are so hideous.”

He gapes at her for a moment, surprised that she spoke that much in a single minute. In truth, he was used to her talking fairly little, and can never shake his surprise when she decides to dump a fact on him or a plan to escape the Dursleys.

The girl narrows her eyes for a moment as she realizes something. “Hang on, I nicked a book about magical creatures last year and gave it to you, why didn’t you know about all that?”

Harry averts his eyes in embarrassment, instead focusing back on Hagrid. “I just forgot.”

She of course doesn’t believe his words but doesn’t find it something she needs to address, finding herself talking enough in the last few minutes. 

Hagrid told the two to stand back as he dragged his umbrella across the wall, tapping it thrice. The brick that he touched quivered, wiggled, and then a small hole appeared in the middle of the brick that grew wider in seconds before a large archway shows itself to the three individuals. 

The area the archway revealed has a cobbled street that twists and turns out of sight. Hailey actually is intrigued, even with the large amount of people bustling around. “Welcome,” Hagrid says, grinning proudly once realizing the two are amazed, “to Diagon Alley.”

Hailey immediately runs out, staring directly at a window of a pet shop, a couple cats clawing at the window when she gets closer. She coos, lightly placing her hand on the glass as a small black kitten stands on the window, its paws being distanced from her hand by a small pane of glass.

“Hailey…” Harry mutters, dragging her away from the pet shop once he catches up to her. “You can’t run off like that.”

She nods, waving goodbye to the kitten before walking back to Hagrid. Owls hoot from Eeylops Owl Emporium, distracting her for a moment, even as they walk by. Shops that sell telescopes and instruments the girl had no way of knowing what they do fill her with confusion, just as Harry was amazed with the windows filled with barrels of bat spleens and eels’ eyes.

A snowy white building fills her vision that towers all of the other shops. A small creature, of what Hailey assumes is a goblin, is standing guard in front of the door to the building. The creature was around a head shorter than her, with very long fingers and feet. 

Not listening to Hagrid, Hailey merely walks with the two, waving at the goblins who don’t give her the same courtesy. 

The vast doors open, revealing pristine marble floors that audibly make noise as the three walk in, the two children gaping at the giant building. Over a hundred goblins sit on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling hastily on papers that are not seen by the two children who are rather short.

“Mornin’,” Hagrid says cheerily to a free goblin. “We’ve come ter take some money outta the Potter’s safe.”

“You have the key, sir?”

Hagrid pauses for a moment before digging through his pockets. “Got it here somewhere,” he says as he begins to empty out his pockets onto the counter, causing the girl to scrunch up her nose in embarrassment. Moldy dog biscuits are thrown onto the counter, along with other knick knacks that causes the goblin to raise his nose at the man in front of him. “Got it!” Hagrid exclaims, revealing a small golden key.

The goblin stares at the key for a moment before sighing, brushing the biscuits off of his paperwork. “That seems to be in order.”

“An’ I’ve got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore,” Hagrid says proudly, almost puffing out his chest like a bird trying to make itself look bigger, which Hagrid definitely doesn’t need to do. “It’s about You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen.”

Hailey tilts her head in confusion, wanting to know the big secret, but also not wanting to pry and scare off the large man.

The goblin looks over the letter carefully before handing it back to Hagrid, “very well. I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!”

Griphook, yet another goblin, gestures for the three to follow him, which they oblige once Hagrid crams the biscuits back into his pockets. Harry glances at Hagrid once he is ready to go, saying, “what’s the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?”

“Can’t tell yeh that,” Hagrid says, causing the girl to frown in annoyance. She wanted to know as well. “Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore’s trusted me. More’n my job’s worth ter tell yeh that.”

Griphook holds the door open for them, which Hailey quietly thanks him for, as the floor enter a narrow stone passageway that is lit with torches. It slopes downward, railings on the walls. With a whistle from the goblin, a cart hurtling toward them, which they enter gratefully.

While Harry was smiling and excited with the twists and turns of the cart, Hailey can’t help but put a hand over her mouth as she feels as if she’s going to vomit, not enjoying the abrupt movements at all. She doesn’t pay attention to the areas zipping by, barely noticing when a burst of fire appears at an end of a passageway. 

“I never know,” Harry calls out, “what’s the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?”

“Stalagmite’s got a ‘m’ in it,” Hagrid calls back, looking quite green, the movement not agreeing with him as well. “An’ don’ ask me questions righ’ now, I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Hailey sighs in relief once the cart stops, resting her head on the side of the cart until she is able to crawl out, barely paying attention to the world around her. Hagrid, who is having the same issue as her, is currently leaning on a wall to stop his knees from trembling. 

While the goblin starts to open the vault, Hailey grabs her brother’s hand to gain his attention, which does work. “Stalactites hang from the ceiling, stalagmites are at the bottom.”

He nods, but is distracted when green smoke billows out of the vault, revealing shining coins. Columns of silvers, golden coins, and small knuts adorn the floor, making both children gape in surprise at the money.

The Dursleys did not know about this money, as they would have stolen it before the two reached two years old. But it makes the girl smile anyways, thinking back to when they would complain that the two cost them too much. But little did they know that the two had a fortune right underneath London.

Hailey, after glancing at Hagrid, rushes toward the piles, and with the help of her brother, puts some money in two bags, one for each of them. 

“The gold ones are Galleons,” Hagrid explains. “Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it’s easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer yeh ter.” He turns to Griphook after the two children leave the vault. “Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly.”

Hailey internally hopes for this as well, getting disappointed when the goblin replied with, “one speed only.”

The air became colder as they were going deeper, the speed increasing as they zip by a ravine. Harry attempts to look underneath the cart, but is grabbed by Hagrid as the boy was tipping the cart to the side.

There was no keyhole on the door to the vault, which confuses the girl in the group until Griphook strokes the door with one of his long fingers, to which the door simply melts away. “If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they’d be sucked through the door and trapped in there.”

Harry stares at the goblin apprehensively, not liking that at all. “How often do you check to see if anyone’s inside?”

Griphook’s face contorts in a nasty grin that caused Hailey to grab onto her brother’s wrist in concern. “About once every ten years.” She definitely didn’t like that answer from the goblin.

Hailey didn’t even care to see what was in the vault, deciding that she wanted out of this place as soon as she possibly could. 

••••

Madam Malkin is a short witch with a bright smile who is wearing mauve garments. She immediately rushed the two children in the back after their confirmation of being future Hogwarts students. In the back, there is another child, who is a bit taller than the twins with white-blond hair and a pointed face, wearing black robes that are too long for him. His complexion was fair, making his hair practically blend in with his skin.

The woman pulls robes over their heads and begins to pin the Harry’s robes to the right length.

The boy with a pointed face glances at the two before saying, “hello, Hogwarts too?”

“Yes.”

Incidentally, the two twins said the same response in unison, weirding out the blond boy almost immediately. However, he brushes it off, deciding that the two are worthy enough to converse with. “My father’s next door buying my books and Mother’s up the street looking at wands. Then I’m going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don’t see why first years can’t have their own. I think I’ll bully Father into getting me one and I’ll smuggle it somehow.”

“Your parents allow you to bully them?” Hailey asks in confusion. “You sound like my cousin now that I think about it.”

The blond boy seems taken aback by her blunt statement but decides to brush it off after a few moments. “Have either of you got your own brooms?”

“No.”

“Play Quidditch at all?”

“No.”

Hailey furrows her brow at the new word, not being able to figure out the strange new term by context alone. She put together that it had to do with flying brooms, but other than that, she’s stuck.

“Well I do,” the boy starts, fullly determined to brag, “Father says it’s a crime if I’m not picked to play for my House, and I must say, I agree. Know what House you two will be in yet?”

“No.”

“Slytherin seems pretty cool.” Harry is thrown off guard by his sister’s knowledge on a subject he has no idea about, causing her to withdraw a book from her bag. “Nicked it from a store called Flourish and Blotts, it’s on our reading list anyways.”

“How did you read it so fast?”

Hailey shrugs, putting the book back in her bag. “Didn’t read all of it, only the sections that interested me.”

“Well my family doesn’t have to steal, shame you do.”

Harry seems to get more and more annoyed with the blond the more he talks while Hailey is just intrigued by his knowledge. Hailey tilts her head at his statement though, finding his statement odd. “We actually have quite a bit of money, I just didn’t know that before I stole it.”

The blond gets even more confused at that statement, not knowing how to react to that. However, he soon grows amazed as he looks at the front window and spots Hagrid. “I say, look at that man!”

Hagrid was proudly holding three ice creams, pointing at them in an attempt to silently explain why he couldn’t enter the shop. Hailey practically bounces at the thought of ice cream, having only been able to eat it when her guardians were fast asleep, unknowingly giving her an opening of picking the lock to the cupboard.

“That’s Hagrid,” Harry says proudly, finally finding something that the other boy didn’t already know. “He works at Hogwarts.”

“Oh,” the boy says at once, “I’ve heard of him. He’s a sort of servant, isn’t he?” 

“He’s the gamekeeper.”

“That means he looks after the grounds and makes sure the castle is secure,” Hailey says in a way to annoy the boy. She really wants to annoy him, just to pay him back for annoying her.

“I know what it means!” He hisses at her before clearing his throat and gaining back his composure. “I heard he’s a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting his bed on fire.”

Harry gets more and more annoyed at the boy, just wanting to leave the shop. “Well I think he’s brilliant.”

“Do you,” the boy sneers, finding it amusing. “Why is he with you two? Where are your parents?”

“They’re dead,” Harry replies shortly, wanting to end the current conversation as quickly as he could. He didn’t particularly even want to talk about the matter with the boy anyways.

“Oh, sorry,” the boy says, definitely not actually meaning it. Even Hailey, who didn’t always understand sarcasm understood that the boy was not sorry. “But they were our kind, weren’t they?”

“They were a witch and wizard if that’s what you mean.”

“I really don’t think they should let the other sort in, do you? They’re just not the same, they’ve never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get their letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What is your surname anyway?”

Before Harry could answer, he is given a bag with his altered robes, allowing him to jump off his stool in a hurry. Turning back to his sister, he quickly utters, “I’ll meet you outside,” before running off, not wanting to stay in the store any longer.

Hailey nods, glancing at the blond boy in intrigue, “you know, you’re pretty interesting...in an annoying sort of way.”

He looks offended for a moment before brushing it off, taking the girl to be unintelligent and deciding not to take it to heart. “I’m Malfoy by the way, Draco Malfoy.” Reaching over, he extends his hand out to her, which she just stares at.

“Hailey Potter, and I don’t do handshakes, sorry,” she replies coldly before handing Madam Malkin the money for the robes for her and her brother. Jumping off the stool, she takes the bag from the store owner before turning back to the boy. “I hope my first impression of you is incorrect, because if it’s not, you truly should learn some manners. See you at Hogwarts!”

Before Draco can even comprehend what she said, she’s already walking to the door. And when he goes to open his mouth to call out to her, she’s out the door, practically skipping in delight that she was able to get her first pair of robes.

“Potter…” he mutters to himself as Madam Malkin does the finishing touches to his robes. “I’ll have to tell father about this.”

••••

“Blimey, I keep forgettin’ how little yeh know - not knowin’ about Quidditch!”

Hailey tunes into the conversation finally, happily eating her ice cream as she glances in every window. 

Harry, on the other hand, is gloomy and quiet, not enjoying his previous interaction with the boy they just met. “Don’t make me feel worse…” The boy goes into a tangent about the boy they met in the shop, which Hailey happily tunes out as she snatches a quill made of sugar from a nearby shop.

“So what is Quidditch?”

Hailey is intrigued by the new word as well, enjoying what she found out is a sugar quill now that her ice cream is finished. 

Hagrid seems to want to put together his thoughts before actually articulating them. “It’s our sport. Wizard sport. It’s like - like football in the muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there’s four balls - sorta hard to explain the rules.”

“Sounds pretty stupid,” Hailey says bluntly, still enjoying her sugary treat. “Who would enjoy people flying around on brooms? Would give me a headache.”

Hagrid, who is more focused on the fact that she got candy, mutters, “where’d yeh get that,” before deciding to drop it, not really wanting to know the answer. Which is for the best.

“What is Slytherin?”

“A school house. There’s four. Everyone says Hufflepuffs are a lot o’ duffers, but-“

“I bet I’m in Hufflepuff,” Harry says gloomily, confusing his sister. To her, Hufflepuffs seem like the underdogs, and what fun is it to be the top dog when you can surprise everyone in the end?

“Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin,” Hagrid says darkly. “There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin.”

“Grindelwald wasn’t in Slytherin,” Hailey says simply. “From what I read from this book here - I bought it when Harry was ranting about that one kid - he went to another school called Durmstrang. Plus, according to Hogwarts: A History, Merlin was a Slytherin, so they can’t be all bad.”

Harry once again is taken aback, not noticing how she was reading while walking. “Why did you get another book?”

“I wanted to know what was so special about Dumbledore and they had a biography about him, rather small though, published ten years ago, got a mighty good deal on it too.”

Both Hagrid and Harry decide not to question it, realizing that they can barely understand half of what she is saying as it seems as if new ideas pop into her head every few moments.

When going to the different shops, Hailey can’t help but look around, sometimes wanting to buy a few extra things, only to be stopped by Hagrid. She wanted a golden cauldron, as did Harry, but their list called for a pewter one instead. She also was particularly mortified that they sold unicorn horns, feeling bad for the poor creatures as they probably have perished in order to obtain those ingredients.

“Just yer wands left - oh yeah, an’ I still haven’t gotten her birthday presents.”

“You don't have to-“

Hailey quickly covers her brother’s mouth, actually wanting a birthday present. Even if she is fairly competent at stealing her own presents, she never has received a present from someone else before.

“I know I don’t have to. Tell yeh what, I’ll get yer animals. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh’d be laughed at it - an’ I don’t like cats, they make me sneeze, I get yer both owls, All the kids want owls, they’re dead useful, carry yer mail an’ everyin’.” 

Hailey immediately scrunches her nose at the offer, deciding she wants to be a hypocrite and not want a birthday present now. “I don’t need a gift, it’s alright.”

Hagrid doesn’t seem to listen to her, instead ushering the two children into Eeylops Owl Emporium, which is dark and smells of birds. Harry immediately spots a beautiful snowy owl, which is bought and he carries the cage.

Hailey on the other hand doesn’t particularly like birds. Ever since she was seven and a bird pooped on her head when she was walking back from the library, most birds annoy her. And with hundreds of them squawking, that feeling doesn’t diminish.

Hagrid notices this, pulling her out of the shop. “Come along, we’re not done yet.”

The two children walk alongside Hagrid until they come across the small pet shop Hailey noticed when they first entered Diagon Alley, which causes her demeanor to brighten drastically. She immediately runs in, being greeted by different types of toads croaking and cats meowing, along with other creatures such as ferrets and rats.

Her smile widens as she actually enjoys the different types of creatures in the shop. Hagrid walks in with Harry, a handkerchief over his mouth in an attempt to make sure he doesn’t sneeze. “See anything yeh like?”

Hailey looks around, feeling overwhelmed with the vast amount of choices until she feels something rub against her leg. Now, as she looked down, her smile widens even more, if humanly possible, as she spots the black cat from the window a few hours prior.

The cat wasn’t anything special, with big green eyes and a mid-length black coat, but to Hailey, it looked like the cutest creature she had ever seen. Immediately kneeling down, she pets the familiar feline until she’s interrupted by the shopkeeper.

“Well isn’t that a surprise.”

Hailey, who now has the kitten in her lap, stares up at the woman in confusion. “What?”

“She’s scratched about every customer who’s walked in here since she arrived,” the woman says calmly, to which Hailey notices her arms are wrapped in bandages. “And now she looks harmless, doesn’t she?”

Hailey pets the cat’s head for a moment before looking up at the woman once more. “How much for her?”


End file.
